Top 10 goals for 2013 part 4

Original photo by marc falardeau

OK, here we are at the fourth time through doing the top ten goals for the year.  Again, like Chalene says in her 30 Day Push book these goals are for the year.  They are also under the premise of "Wouldn't it be crazy cool if. . ."

I'm also cheating a bit from Chalene's version.  In her version you are actually making 12 goals.  She doesn't count the Push Goal or Health Goal as one of the ten goals.  I'm counting both of those as one of my ten.

Also, the idea is to write these goals as though it is 12/31/13 and they've been accomplished.

So:

1) I've got my ISSA personal trainer certification
2) I've followed the P90X nutrition plan
3) Have my welding certification from Cerritos College
4) I've trained for and raced a successful season of cyclocross
5) I've welded my first bicycle frame
6) I'm training up to five people through my personal training cert
7) I've got my private pilot's license
8) I've surfed my stand-up paddle board in all kinds of conditions
9) I've invested my money wisely and continue to get 10% return
10) I've saved a 20% downpayment for a $300K home here in SoCal.

OK, that covers it for another week.
Good luck to everybody and anybody following along.

My 2013 goals, part 8 of 30

Original photo by dullhunk

OK, first off, because of P90X and studying for my ISSA personal trainer certification, I'm not doing each of these days consecutively.  For those that have been following along, you've already figured this out.

Anyway, part 8 of the 30 Day PUSH by Chalene Johnson is to map out your course from now to success.

This is a pretty big day in that it helps to keep things in line and on-task.  Defining priorities, setting goals, breaking the goals down (reverse engineering) are all well and good, but where do you go from here?

This map is to help guide you along the path from where you are now to where you want to be in the next twelve months.

Pen and paper in hand (Evernote app at the ready) there are going to be four columns to fill out across the top of the paper; Research, First, During, and Later.

Research is just that, it's finding out everything and anything even the slightest bit useful about your Push Goal.  Like Chalene says, somebody has done it before, so pick their brain personally or find out how they did it some other way (Google Search - or I like the term Google Stalk. HA!)

For me, I need to research other local personal trainers.  I've already taken a look at the types of certifications some of the personal trainers at the gym I go to have.  I need to see what the local market price is for a personal trainer.  I need to research what types of venues local trainers are using, like parks, personal gyms, franchise gyms, etc.  I also need to see what types of exercise is popular and study up.  Right now, off the top of my head I know that Cross Fit is huge out here.  Also, anything with Kettle Bells is a big thing right now.  Yoga is pretty much here to stay in California any way, so that wouldn't hurt to know.  I could go on and on, but you get the point.

As you do your research make sure you keep asking yourself if this goal still fits your priorities and if you are willing to make whatever sacrifices and commitments there may be to achieve your goal.

First is for the things that will be done immediately after your research is done or while it is on-going.  These things are going to be the building blocks for your Push Goal.  So, a lot of my action items are listed above.  Once I'm feeling like I've saturated my research column, I can start tackling some of my first tasks.

During is for the things to be done along the way. Chalene uses the health goal as an example of during tasks.  One of the things I'm doing now with my Lose It! app is to track my daily caloric intake versus my caloric burn.  So, this is something I'm doing during my road to success of following the P90X nutrition plan.   Also, as a part of the whole health goal, I'm working out 6 out of 7 days.  I'm on day seven of week 1 following the traditional P90X DVD plan.  Today was the Legs and Back DVD followed by Ab Ripper X!  By the way, if you've ever done P90X and/or the Ab Ripper X DVD, I hate crunchy frogs!!  They are SO tough.  Those and the roll-up/v-up combo.  UGH!!  I'm already seeing improvements though.  I did more of every exercise today than I have the previous two times I've done Ab Ripper X.

For my ISSA personal trainer certification, I've been studying in the morning before work for a solid 45 minutes each morning.  I've been doing a little bit after work here and there, but it's mostly in the mornings for me.  I need to get hot on doing some actual research on local personal trainers and different exercises.

Later is for anything that doesn't have to be done in the first 30 days.  If it can wait or it doesn't make sense to tackle just yet, put it in this column.  My ISSA personal trainer certification gives me a nice window of eight months to get my ducks in a row.  Assuming I pass the certification final exam, I can launch my business then.  Until then, I need to keep studying and do a lot of research.

So, get to writing.  I'm going to sit down and do the same.  Talk at you later!

Top 10 goals for 2013 part 3

Original photo by Sam Howzit

Alright, this is going to be quick and dirty because I want to go to bed.
Premise behind the goals is "Wouldn't it be crazy cool if. . . "
These are goals for the year.

1) ISSA personal trainer certificate
2) Follow P90X nutrition plan
3) Get welding certificate from Cerritos College
4) Get private pilot's license
5) Surf the SUP in varying conditions
6) Invest my money wisely gaining 10% or greater returns
7) Have 5 clients I'm personally training
8) Go to several, at least four, different Methodist Churches and find one that fits
9) Train for and race a successful season of cyclocross
10) Save enough money for a 20% down payment on a $300K house in SoCal.

Cool!
Good night.

My 2013 goals, part 7 of 30

Original photo by Motor74

So, Day 7 of the 30 Day PUSH by Chalene Johnson is to become your own motivational coach.

Man, I'm never going to do this.  It's too big of a task.  I'm too stressed out.  I can't handle it right now.

HA!  I'm just kidding, but that's exactly what Chalene warns against.  Negative talk.  You are your own worst enemy.  No more doubting.  I CAN DO THIS!!

The idea is to quit doubting yourself, second guessing, in other words limiting yourself.

PMA - Positive Mental Attitude.  You chose to be happy or you chose to be disappointed.

So, be HAPPY!  Or a hippy, but happy is good.

Hey fatty!

Side note:  I took my P90X before pictures.  WOW!  I knew I had put on a bit of weight since the summer, but geez.  (Yes, my Speedo has flowers on it!  Yes, it's a men's suit.  It's from their water polo series back from 2008 or 2009).

I also officially signed up for Lose It!  I used it to figure out all of what I ate today.  P90X has my daily caloric intake at 2400.  Lose It! has me at 2200, if I go ultra conservative and only try to lose a half a pound a week trying to go from 170 (which is a guess at my current weight) to 160 lbs as the target.  I consumed 3959 calories today!  YIKES!!
Thankfully, the P90X workout helped me kill 1000 of that, so I only exceeded my "budget" by 700 calories or so.

Still, WOW, actually jotting it all down and seeing the numbers is kind of scary.

I am definitely motivated.

Also, I've spent the past couple of mornings studying away for my ISSA personal trainer cert.  I need to officially sign on to the website to start my timer.  They keep track of how long it takes their students to go from day 1 to certified.  Super stoked on that too.

OK, I need to go cry myself to sleep tonight after looking at my before picture again (not really)!  Remember PMA!  I CAN DO THIS!!

My 2013 goals, top 10 list #2

Original photo by jenni from the block

OK, here we are a week later.  Time to do another top ten list of: "It would be crazy cool if, ____ ."

Again, like last Sunday, this list is for the year.

My Push Goal is to get my ISSA personal trainer certificate.

My Health Goal is to follow the P90X nutrition plan.

Finally, the goals are supposed to be written as though it is December 31st and they have been accomplished.

So, those two aside, here are my top 10:

1) I have my welding certificate from Cerritos College. - I didn't look, but I know that last week I wanted to take the UBI bicycle frame building school.  However, after looking into all the logistics, it seemed a bit out of reach financially.  Cerritos is right around the corner, so I don't have to use vacation AND drop a whole lot of coin to learn how to weld.

2) I have my private pilot's license. - I also looked into helicopters.  The airplane version is a lot cheaper, still really expensive, but cheaper.  Plus, it takes anywhere from six months to a year to get certified to fly.  I think one per year is still a healthy challenge.

3) I have surfed my SUP in all sorts of conditions.  I'm already living this one up.  I surfed yesterday in little 1-3 foot ankle-breakers.  Today, I surfed and it was TOTALLY flat.  My arms and legs are freaking out.  It was a lot of fun.

4) I have welded my own bicycle frame.

5) I have five people that I personally train.

6) I have raced a fun and successful season of cyclocross.

7) I have built and sold my first bicycle.

8) I have made investments with my money that continue to earn 10% or greater returns.

9) I have updated my truck's stereo system to have a bluetooth compatible system

10) I have saved enough money for a 20% down payment on a $300K home.

My 2013 goals, part 6 of 30

Original photo by Tax Credits

Chalene's challenge for day 6 of the 30 Day PUSH is to reverse engineer your health goal.

So, same thing as day 5, when I reverse engineered my push goal of getting my ISSA personal trainer certification.

My health goal is to follow the P90X nutrition plan.  I finally got my P90X and read through the nutrition plan.

According to P90X, I'm a "level 2".  My calculated daily average calorie intake should be around the 2700 mark to maintain where I'm at while doing the P90X workout routine.  The rub is that as a level 2, if I want to get RIPPED like Tony Horton is, I can only consume 2400 calories a day.  Wow.  We're talking about a totally irritable, hangry, level of food intake for me personally.

Like me, I'm sure you're wondering if you could use your smart phone for tracking your daily caloric intake.  Yes, they have an app for that.  A buddy of mine uses the Lose It! calorie counter app.  It is a free app that has pretty good reviews.  There's also My Fitness Pal's calorie counter app.  It is another free app that has quite a few great reviews.  P90X has an iTunes app, but it isn't free.  The P90X app is nice for following the program, because your phone is always at hand to track your food and chat with other people on the P90X forums.  At the same time, the P90X app isn't a food calorie calculator.  P90X's nutrition program is based around portion size.  They state what one serving size is for everything listed in the nutrition plan.

The nutrition plan is nicely broken down for me.  A seven day; breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner plan is all laid out.  Meals that require any kind of prep have a specific level 2 recipe.  Thankfully, my girlfriend and I don't keep junk food in the house.  All of the junk we have fits into a cereal bowl on the kitchen table, and it isn't even full.  We already normally buy 90%+ of the items needed to make the food in the weekly plan.  The P90X nutrition law I will be breaking: fruit.  On the P90X plan, you are only allowed one piece of fruit a day.  Most hard-core nutrition plans shy away from fruit because of all the sugar.  Really hard-core nutrition will even no-no things like carrots because of the sugar they contain.  I like fruit.  So, sorry Tony, but I'm eating more than one piece a day.  I figure it is better than eating a snickers bar, cause I'm not me when I'm hangry.

Well, it's freezing (relative term) here in SoCal tonight.  My hands are cold from typing on the computer.  Have a good night.

My 2013 goals, part 5 of 30

Original photo by jurvetson

Day 5 of Chalene Johnson's 30 Day PUSH is to reverse engineer your PUSH goal.  So, since I am an engineer by both degree and profession, this should be a snap.  Just let me go get my calculator and calipers out. . .

Chalene defines reverse engineering as: to take something apart and figure out its inner workings before you begin to build your own version.

For goals, you want to reduce them down to a step-by-step road map to success.

Step 1 of Chalene's reverse engineering is to brain storm.  She recommends using your smartphone (assuming you have one, which most people do by now).  However, if you've ever actually written anything of length on your smartphone, you know that it takes FOREVER!  So, instead, use an app (Yes, there is an app for that. . .) like Evernote.  Evernote is awesome because even with the basic service, you can put it on your smartphone, tablet, AND computer and they will all be synced.  That way, no matter where you are or what device you have with you, you can make changes and always see the latest version.  Pretty sweet.

Anyway, step 1, brainstorming - with pen and paper (or Evernote), create a list of absolutely everything and anything you're going to need to know, do, acquire, master, and so on to achieve your goal.  It doesn't matter what order the ideas come in, just keep brainstorming.

Step 2 is to break down every idea in your list so that it takes no longer than 1 day to complete.

Step 3 is to create a realistic schedule of how long each task should take (wasn't step 2 one-day tasks?) and the proposed completion/execution date.

My PUSH goal is to get my ISSA personal training cert and have 5 clients by the end of 2013.  So, some of the brainstorming stuff would be to buy the ISSA personal trainer certification package, study, research what other personal trainers charge for sessions in my area, study, research different exercises, study, research different exercise equipment, study, find a good liability release form (especially for here in SoCal!!), study, get a website, study, business cards, study, web site design, study, study, and did I mention study?

I've actually already purchased and received my ISSA package, check.  In it, there is a convenient study guide for the huge 700+ page book I will eventually have read cover-to-cover.  There are also practice tests and quizzes.   In addition, there is a neat little one pager on stats for personal trainers, like average income, etc.  Pretty nice.  A lot of my 'break down" and research is already there.  I can and will augment all of this stuff, but up front I am well on my way.

Another plus to all of this is that I have been looking into being a coach/personal trainer for a LONG time.  So, this isn't an idea I hatched just recently and am just blindly following through with.  I have already been a USA Cycling level 3 cycling coach and I took the course to become a level 2 cycling coach.  Unfortunately, because of work and other circumstances, I delayed taking the final exam too long and didn't pass.  Se la vi.

Time to study.  HA!

My 2013 goals, part 4 of 30.

Original photo by Rance Costa

Day 4 of Chalene's 30 Day PUSH is selecting a SMART health and fitness goal.

SMART stands for Smallest, Measurable, Achievable, Rewarding, and Time-sensitive.

Smallest:  Take your health goal and chop it up into a time frame of 2 to 4 week blocks.

Measurable:  An outsider should be able to evaluate whether or not you have achieved your goal, beyond simply taking your word for it.

Achievable:  Goals must push you, but they must be attainable, healthy, and aligned with your priorities.

Rewarding:  Identify any positive side effect of accomplishing this goal.  List all the benefits and rewards, no matter how small, associated with hitting your mark.

Time Sensitive:  Each goal should have a measurement and a time-specific deadline.  When you set a date to achieve your goal, you give yourself a deadline.  With a deadline, you become more focused.

OK, back on day 1 of all of this, there were things that I listed as my "intrinsic priorities". These things make me who I am.  I don't need to be held accountable in order to pursue them.  One of my intrinsic priorities is working out.  I LOVE working out.  So, health goals in that area are easily achieved.  Plus, I've done a LOT of different things like bicycle racing, triathlons, surfing, climbing, hiking, camping, etc.  I've done enough that I know what I like and what I don't.

On my list of 10 goals from day two, I originally put down surfing my SUP as one fitness goal and the P90X diet as another.  With surfing, I can challenge myself to surf in bigger/heavier surf.  With the P90X diet, I get a cleaner way of eating; maybe a better definition is a nutrition plan.

So, the SMART surfing plan for me is to surf at least one day, every weekend, for a whole month (weather permitting).  That way, I will be sure to get a variety of wave sizes and conditions.  In this way, I will become better at knowing which boards to bring and ride in all of those varying conditions.

The SMART P90X plan would be to follow the nutrition plan for four weeks straight, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all of the snacks between. 

Like Chalene says in her PUSH book, goals are easier to track and follow if they are broken down into smaller chunks.  Or, to be cliché: the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

Here's to bite-sized pieces of elephant!!

My 2013 goals, part 3 of 30

Original photo by BLACK EYED SUZY

OK, Chalene's task for today's PUSH is to figure out my Push Goal.

Looking over my newly updated list of 10 goals.  My push goal is to get my ISSA personal trainer certification and have 5 clients that I train weekly.

This enables me to earn more $$, which allows me to do #3: invest my money wisely and get a 10% return.  This then allows me to complete #2: save the 20% down and buy a $300K home here in SoCal.

More money allows me to go to the UBI bicycle welding school, which is #5.  Doing #5 allows me to complete #4, build and sell a bicycle that I've made.

More money also allows me to do #7: pilots license, #8: helicopter pilots license, and #9: race cyclocross.  Which, ultimately because it is super expensive and time consuming, I'll probably realistically only complete one of the two pilot licenses.

AWESOME.  So, there you go, my Push Goal is to get my ISSA personal training cert.
Which, as of yesterday, I purchased the ISSA package.  It is winging its way to me already.

Thanks, and see you tomorrow.
Clayton

My 2013 goals, part 2 of 30 - updated

Original photo by alex_kuruz

Alrighty then, day 2 of Push is Goal Setting.

These goals are for the year, not just this week or month.  Chalene recommends thinking BIG.  The idea is to go outside of your comfort zone.

Your goals should mesh with ALL of your priorities, not just the main one, or one of the many others.  If the goal doesn't mesh, the idea is to think of a creative way it could be done in-line with your priorities, otherwise toss it.

Goals should be both personal and professional.  The question to ask is, "In the next twelve months, it would be crazy cool if ________."  Goals should be written in the present tense, as if they have already happened.  Also, they should be specific, with actual measurable quantities or qualities.

The second part of this day's task is to do this 10 goal writing every week, for 4 weeks (and beyond actually) without looking back to see what you had previously written.  This is my first week's 10 goals.

My Push Goal is to get my MBA.  Keeping that in mind, here are my first 10 goals:

Push Goal: TBD
Health Goal: TBD
1) I continue to live and follow The P90X diet plan
2) I have earned enough capital for a 20% down payment and purchased a $300K house in SoCal
3) I have invested my money wisely and continuously make 10% on my returns
4) I have built and sold a bicycle that I welded the frame and pieced all the components.
5) I have my bicycle frame welding certification from UBI in Ashland or Portland, OR
6) I have earned my ISSA/ACE personal trainer certification and train 5 clients weekly
7) I have my private pilot certificate - airplanes
8) I have my private pilot certificate - helicopters 
9) I have trained with a coach and raced a fun season of cyclocross
10) I have attended seven United Methodist Churches in the area and found one that fits my personality


OK, that's day two.  Next Sunday the 13th, I'll make a new list of 10 - without referring to this one.  In the meantime, I'll keep PUSH-ing through and see you tomorrow for day 3's activities.

My 2013 goals, part 1 of 30

Original photo by Wikimedia Commons

So, having survived the Mayan End-of-the-World prediction I thought I'd look toward the future. (By the way, The Mayan Calendar is circular.  There is no beginning nor end.)

I was in the habit of writing down my thoughts, ideas, and dreams every year for a good four or five years.  Even updating as the year progressed.  However, I failed to do even so much as an outline for 2012.  Shame on me.

So, here we are at the beginning of 2013.  I'm going to follow Chalene Johnson's Push.  It is a 30-Day challenge that I used in 2011 to set my goals and move towards making them a reality.
(On a side note - I bought Chalene's book through Amazon for $17.  It just came in the mail today.)

The idea is to whittle down ALL your ideas to their most basic forms and then choose the ONE that is the driving force behind all of the others.  Also it helps to keep your ideas in-line with your life priorities, i.e. the things in life that you would NOT compromise no matter what.

Day 1 is not just brain storming like I had previously.  Instead it's brain storming priorities.
 - Chalene defines priorities as "those things so important that if they were stripped from your life, you would be devastated, unfulfilled, and living without purpose.

So, let me do Day 1 over again. . . Especially since I am feeling a bit unfulfilled and purposeless here at the start of 2013!

Brain Storming - take two:  Priorities -
What makes me happy?
Food, good food, meat and lots of veggies.  Riding my bicycles, cleaning my bicycles, fixing my bicycles.  Surfing.  Exercise, cardio and weight lifting (I bought P90X recently, looking forward to it).  Gardening, I have a really cool container garden on my deck.  Playing in the dirt, which lends itself nicely to gardening AND riding bicycles, specifically mountain and cyclocross.  Working with my hands as much as my mind.  Going to church and hearing a good sermon, a sermon that really speaks to me.  Being outside.  Playing.

What areas of my life are of great importance to me, but I believe that I must be held accountable to honor them?

1) My diet - eating better.  I eat healthy, mostly, and probably better than most.  However, I've never really been ripped other than in college during triathlon when I was exercising so much that I couldn't eat enough food, period.  Now that I sit at a desk for the better part of five out of seven days every week, I struggle with my mid-line like every body else.

2) My career - I'm not worried about more money (though I'm not going to turn down more by any means), nor am I worried about more responsibility as a driving force.  Instead, to me, I mean education.  I want to FINALLY start the GRE--->MBA program.  I also want to get my Professional Engineering License because I can.  I don't need either of these things for what I do and with whom I am employed, but if my place of employment were to ever change, more education can only help.  With my current employer, it will allow me more flexibility with job opportunities as they manifest.

3) My education - As stated above, I would like to continue my education.  I like learning.  I like exercising my brain as much as my body.  As of lately, I feel like my brain is all soft and squishy.  It has a spare tire and a couple of chins.  It is no longer the steel trap (just go with me here) that it was when I was in college.  So, again, I would like to finally study for and pass the GRE so that I can get into an MBA program.  I would also like to start studying for and obtain my Pro E (not the drafting software) license.

4) My nest egg - I've never been bad with money.  I pay my bills in-full and on-time.  I keep a balanced check book.  I don't pay APR on my credit card purchases, if I can help it.  I like toys.  Since I've gotten older, my toys have become more expensive.  So, my trouble is saving.  I do the full company match into my 401K.  I also have a savings account that is somewhat healthy.  There is always room to do more.  I would like to invest my savings, so that it earns more than just the measly 0.4% or 0.04% annually in my savings account.

5) My business - Since I started this blog in November of 2012, the idea is and has been for it to be the seed of my personal business.  I would like to grow my business more in 2013.  Define it a little more.  As of right now, my thoughts are along the lines of personal trainer.  So, I would like to pursue that avenue and see where it takes me.  Exercise is definitely one of my intrinsic priorities.  I enjoy sharing that passion with others.

What do I want to be?
Well, when I grow up. . .  Actually, funny enough, I've ALWAYS been a nerd.  I know, surprising to those of you who've known me for all of my life or a better part of it.  When I was little, I mean little like 4 or 5, I wanted to be a Design Engineer when I grew up, not a Fireman, not a Policeman, nor an Astronaut.  I wanted to design stuff.  I still do.  I get to sort of design things every now and again at work.  I REALLY enjoy doing it too.  I'd LOVE to design stuff for real, for myself, my ideas.  I would love to learn and really know how to weld, machine, and even work with wood, leather, other fabrics, fiber glass, carbon, kevlar, etc.  I want to be a Design Engineer.  I can see myself in a garage someday with various machines around and a few projects on the floor in various stages of completion.

My top 3 Priorities -
In no particular order: My diet, my education, and my nest egg.

My #1 priority:
My education.

My #2 priority:
My nest egg.

My #3 priority:
My diet.

The reason I have placed the greatest importance on my education is because I believe a sound mind and sound body go together.  I have a fairly sound body, now I need a sound mind (again).  I had a lot of balance between mind and body in college.  Since then, it has been skewed towards the body side.  I want to round it out again.

I will honor my #1 priority by doing my best to study in the mornings before work.  I have a built in study time because my girlfriend and I commute to work together.  She starts at 6am, I don't start until 7:30.  So, I have a good hour or so that I can dedicate every morning, five days a week, to study.

The following actions would be inconsistent with my commitment to my top priority:
Not studying, not taking the GRE, not passing the GRE, not getting into a local MBA program.

To honor my #1 priority, I will limit the following:  Internet browsing.  Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  Yes, I'm going to do some, but I need to keep it in check.

To honor my #1 priority, I need to make the following changes:  Study in the mornings before work and workout after work.

My top priority clarity statement:
My #1 priority is to further my education by getting my MBA and Professional Engineering License.
I believe that a sound mind and body go together.  I will honor my #1 priority by doing my best to study in the morning before work.  I will weigh all decisions against what would be helpful, harmful, or indifferent to my studies.  I will limit any activities, pursuits, or relationships that would hinder and otherwise impede my progress.

So, that's day 1, officially.  I've clarified my purpose for 2013.  I feel better already.
See you tomorrow for day #2.